North
North (노스 Noseu) is one of the Four Great Witches and the main antagonist of Witch Hunter. She is currently in a weakened state but is slowly recovering her original powers. Her subordinates are Neptis, Varete and Aria Godspell and her agenda is to exterminate humankind but her current machination is to revive West. Appearance North is a tall, slender but well endowed woman with long, black hair flowing down her back and two strands framing her face on either side with a fringe above her face. Around her neck is a long black collar with frilled ends and around her upper body is a hovering, shiny black cover with a frilled bottom which is held by a ring at the center of her chest connected to two curtain like cloths that flows past her hips, leaving most of her torso and cleavage exposed. Her bottom half consists of a bikini bottom attached to another curtain centered at her front. She was first seen with long sleeves that begin on her bicep held up by a large ring that wraps around her arms until it finally reaches the base of her fingers and on the palm of her hands are large, round crystals. Recently she was seen with black pearl earrings. Although not worn after the war, North's hat was black and white with a pointed white tip with white spikes on the sides and a black base. In the flashback 17 years ago, she is shown without her cover and is dressed in a long sleeved shirt with two ends joined together in the center of her chest marked with the 4 great witch's emblem. Her hat is also not seen and wears two spherical crossed earrings for which she activated her spell in East's castle. Personality North is a cunning and calculating individual, having set up elaborate plans to achieve her objectives and easily predicting the movements of her enemies. In fact, as of yet, only East continues to act outside of her calculations, a fact most likely attributed to her knowledge of North's plans in advance. North hates humans and is willing to go to great lengths to exterminate them. She is willing to turn against her fellow witches when they oppose her, such as West, Varete and East, all of whom she allied with South to defeat. Additionally, she is also manipulating South. This behavior is very ironic, given that she hates humans because of the way they treat her kind. She appears to have an affinity for strategy games, as she frequently refers to the actions of her pawns and enemies as moves in chess, a game she's frequently seen playing. Story History Every few hundred of years, North along with the other Great Witches would have a meeting. Centuries ago, Merlin made a non-combat pact with all witches including North which involves no fighting within his jurisdiction. North has since been on good terms with Merlin. Not long before the Witch-Human War, North summons a gathering with all the other Great Witches to discuss what to do with the humans after they went against their race. North asks the others why they were against her opinion, but East tells her to calm down. West refocuses the issue while reminding the others that they haven't seen each other in many hundreds of years but North tells her she doesn't care and asks why West opposed her idea since the humans deserve punishment after what they did. West agrees that they couldn't just let the humans off which leads North to ask why she disagreed with her. West tells them they should nurture humans instead and was against violence but North rudely dismisses this while continuing to look down on humanity. South agrees with North which prompts West to tell them they'd have to go through her to get what they want but North shows her determination to reach her dream by stating that she will even kill her to get what she wants. 17 years ago, North meets East in her castle requesting East to stay neutral while she and South kill West. When East refuses, North uses a teleportation spell allowing South, Peony, and Neptis to infiltrate East's castle. North states she could only do this because East underestimated her. North and South easily capture East and bring her back to North's castle. After the real East comes, and escapes leaving Etwal, North reveals that she knew Etwal was East's sorella from the beginning, and that Etwal was her true goal all along. North then absorbs Etwal's remaining mana, and kills Etwal. Some time later, on separate occasions, North together with South go against West, and Varete.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2009). Witch Hunter Manhwa: volume 9: Chapter 46: Page 21''. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-5029-8'' These battles left North in a weakened state. 16 years ago, Due to the information she gained by absorbing Etwal's mana, North uses East's ability to reincarnate West into Tasha Godspell. She later resurrected Varete and formed a contract with her with the conditions being she'll take care of Aria and guard her. The Red Witch Arc North summons Varete to her chambers at her castle while she's playing chess with herself and sends her off to a place. But before she left, North asks Varete to recount what she previously said about the skill of charming to which she answers it moves carefully arranged subordinates as she wishes which North confirms while noting her good memory. She reveals that there was someone messing with her moves but this time her moves are sure to occur and she orders Varete to make sure everything went as she planned and to make sure East understands that Tasha is her knight. Varete shows her understanding of this and leaves. Moments after, North wonders how much East will meddle in her affairs although she shows her amusement for this. Monica Arc Varete returns to North's Castle where she's welcomed by the Great Witch. Varete reports that she was able to retrieve Aria but she apologizes for not being able to deal with East. North comments on how rare it is to see Varete fail and is surprised by how much strength East still had but she dismisses Varete's failure while quoting how a fish can swim against a current but it can't alter the flow. She orders Varete to watch over Tasha since he's development is still lacking in many areas but Varete rejects this command since it wasn't part of their contract, which was to protect her and educate Aria. When Neptis appears and attempts to fight Varete for her arrogance towards North, North stops them both while reminding them both of her presence. She dismisses Varete by telling her to supervise Aria as she sees fit. Neptis tells North she hates how lenient North is towards Varete but she reminds her that in her current state, even if they teamed up, they won't be able to take on Varete. Neptis asks if she meant for the time being which she confirms and she reveals that even without Varete, East will take care of Tasha since she needs him as well. North thinks about using this against her. The Knight and Rose Arc It is revealed that Eunryu, Words Blondy von Worth and Samuel were followers of North with Eunryu being tasked to kill the S-Class WH Witch and Samuel to modify Diana's memory.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2008). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 7: Chapter 25: Page 24. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-3071-9 When North hears Aria's curse on Tasha reached it's final stage meaning he used Moirai's Confinement, she comments on how everything was going as she planned and sends Neptis off to save Tasha from the recoil he'll receive from using that technique.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2009). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 8: Chapter 32: Page 2. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-4072-5 South gatecrashes North's Castle but is convinced to leave by Peony. Escape from Britain Arc It is revealed that North intentionally leaked the location of the WH Southern Center to South so she could infiltrate it, used Eunryu to kill the S-Class there so the HQ could fall easily and had Samuel manipulate Diana's memory so she would send Tasha to Britain and have him meet Merlin, all in order to separate Mordred from Tasha. She uses Neptis to relay a message to her pawns so they can prevent any women from being around Tasha. North is to be one of the targets for the WH's invasions, the other being South. Varete reveals that North has a gatekeeper who will be able to deal with every WH that is drafted to fight her. Invasion Arc North receives a letter from Merlin that warns her of the oncoming war. In preparations for the war, Neptis reports to North that the gatekeeper tasked to defend them is ready at the designated location. She also mentions Aria has also been moved to her location along with Varete to keep her out of trouble. However, Neptis says to be more wary of Varete since Varete knows how unfair she was being treated. North does not worry as she knows that Varete will never betray her as North is the only person to give Varete her hope. A long time ago, the first city that existed was called, Elysia. It was the first city of humans that North had caused to disappear and the existence and mass invasion of witches began. Currently the city is abandoned and devoid of life. By Neptis, it is North's "precious toy". Powers and Abilities North is one of the Great Witches, making her powers greater than twice of an average S-Class WH with abilities that can only be rivaled or surpassed by others of the same rank. She is currently in a weakened state but is slowly recovering back to her former glory. Charm: North has talked to Varete about the ability of charming in chapter 3, which enables her to manipulate people to do her bidding. However, it hasn't been shown if north or any witches use that skill. Resurrect: North is capable of reviving individuals she has killed.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2009). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 8: Chapter 36: Page 13-14. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-4072-5 Following the use of this power upon Varete she formed a contract with her to make her protect her and raise Aria, although the condition of this contract doesn't include having her obey North's every word. It is noted by East that this power originally belonged to her, and that North stole it by taking the Mana of her Sorella, Etwal. Mana Source (마력의 원천 Malyeog-ui Woncheon): Like all witches, North produces her own mana which can be used to enhance her physical abilities in many aspects or to cast spells. The rate of mana she produces is assumed to be extremely large being a person of her rank. *'Enhanced Speed': The mana produced can increase the speed the witch can function. *'Enhanced Strength': Attacks reinforced with mana are more powerful than ordinary attacks. *'Enhanced Durability': By reinforcing their body with mana, witches are able to withstand attacks ordinary humans aren't able to. *'Quicker Recovery': Mana allows the witch's wounds to heal at a more rapid rate. Mana Manipulation: After a witches' awakening, she can figure out how mana works instantly and manipulate it as naturally as she breathes. It takes longer for witches to enhance their physical capabilities compared to chi users but the effects last for a full day. Being a Great Witch, her skills are only rivaled or outdone by another Great Witch. Mana Storage: All witches are capable of naturally storing mana within their body, although to a limited extent. Like all Great Witches, North's body can store a massive amount of mana without the aid of her hat. Mana Perception: A trait all witches possess, the ability to see mana. Keen Intellect: North is an exceptional strategist and is capable of predicting and manipulating events to her liking without many people knowing. By Etwal, she is known to make cold and calm decisions about situations and most of her decisions are successful. Equipment Witch Hat (마녀의 모자 Manyeo-ui Moja): The hat is where the Mana Source is located and can store an endless amount of mana but when lost, the mana can't be retrieved from the missing hat. Oddly enough, the hat is made from mana itself. Castle (성 Seong): Like all Great Witches, North has a massive castle. Witches are said to be a couple times stronger when fighting in their own lair. Relationships Neptis Neptis is perhaps the only subordinate North currently has who is unflinchingly loyal to her, as Aria is only interested in finding her brother and will defy North on a whim while Varete appears loyal but is only bound by a contract to protect North and Aria. Neptis claims that she belongs to North, and is openly willing to carry out her orders without complaint. East East and North are not on good terms due to the fact that North is responsible for killing Etwal and weakening East, and East in return is constantly messing with her plans. North is constantly sending Varete after East to try and kill her. Even in the past East would mock North(such as telling her she is like South for getting angered so easily), North also seems to find East annoying due to East's interference with her plans. Ironically, North notes that while she can't get Varete to protect Tasha, East will do that for her since East has her own plans for the boy. South South is North's biggest threat. In the past the two were always provoking each other but had no problem teaming up with each other in order to take down West. North also appears to be manipulating South to some extent, or at least factoring in ways South's usual violent nature can be of use to her. Varete Varete works under North as one of North's strongest subordinates alongside Neptis. North supposedly killed Varete in the past (most likely the reason Varete works under North). Varete follows North to a certain extent and usually doesn't fail North, however, she is also unwilling to listen to her orders when it comes to guarding Tasha Godspell, as the contract between her and North only covers protecting North and Aria alone, however she appeared in Brittan regardless when Tasha was in danger of going off North's planned path. North has noted that at present, in her weakened state, she can't afford to cross Varete, since nobody else in her group has the power to defeat her. Tasha Godspell Although the two haven't met, Tasha is the key to North's plans. She keeps an eye on him and currently doesn't want him and Aria to meet. She is subtly responsible for isolating him from Halloween by leading him to Brittan and attempts to keep women in general away from him for her plan's sake. She is even using other WH and Diana herself to maneuver him as she intends. It is also implied that she is using South and her subordinates to some extent in this manipulation and is pushing Tasha to grow more powerful. It is implied by East that North, assuming she is the one who ultimately killed West, is the one who resurrected West and created Tasha in the first place as a result. Trivia *It can be speculated that the cause of North's weakened state is the destruction of her witch hat, as she has never been seen wearing one outside of past flashbacks. *Another speculation of her missing witch hat could be that Neptis is her Sorella, explaining her fierce loyalty to North Quotes *(To Varete) "It's rare to see you fail me, Varete"Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2006). Witch Hunter Manwa: Volume 2: Page 6. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-3466-3 *(To Varete) "A fish can swim against the current of a river, but it can not alter the flow". Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2006). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 2: Chapter 8: Page 7. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-3466-3 References Navigation Category:Witch Category:Female Category:Adversaries Category:Characters Category:Four Great Witches